Category: Designer Spotlight

Today we have Jenny, aka SweaterFreak in our Designer Spotlight. But don’t let the name fool you – she also designs beautiful Shawls, Wraps, and Cowls, too. I know you will enjoy learning more about her! (All pattern links go to Ravelry, all yarn links go to The Loopy Ewe.)

Loopy:  Hi Jenny! Thanks for being with us today. How long have you been a knitter and who taught you to knit?

Jenny: I have been a knitter on and off 1985 to 2006 – I was 7 years old when my grandmother taught me how to knit and crochet, I think I actually started knitting before I knew how to read! In 2006, I decided it was time to knit again and I have never looked back!

Loopy: How sweet that your grandmother taught you. It’s a fun tradition to pass on down the line! What is your favorite type of item to knit?

Jenny: Sweaters and cowls!

Loopy: That would have been my guess, based on your design name. 🙂 What is the most challenging thing that you have knit to date?

Jenny: My V-Lace top which is my second pattern remains the most challenging item I made to date:) I don’t like easy beginnings:) In retrospect, it’s actually an easy knit, but was more difficult to grade and write the pattern for, than actually knit.

Loopy: Yes, that just kind of boggles my mind, thinking about writing that in all of the different sizes. It’s really a beautiful sweater! When did you start designing, and what spurred that interest?

Jenny: I first dibbed my toes in design in 2011 and I have to credit my late friend and a designer Elena Nodel (aka Anadiomena on Ravelry) with providing encouragement and mentorship in the early stages of my design path.

Loopy: It helps so very much to have a mentor when you undertake big things. I’m glad you had a good one. Do you have a favorite pattern that you’ve designed?

Jenny: My last pattern is usually my favorite – one of my recent patterns absolutely surpassed my expectations when I blocked it, my Neutra Wrap. I adore graphic bold mod patterns in fashion and really wanted to go for that kind of aesthetic on this one and it worked out so well. I am very pleased.

Loopy: That is a really cool pattern! I love the different directions of the stripes. It would be fun to pick yarn colors for that! What is your favorite part of your designing? And your not-so-favorite part?

Jenny: My favorite part is seeing my idea grow, especially when it works out as envisioned, you know that AHA! moment! Not so favorite part is taking the photos – I use myself as a model and with time limitations, it’s always a gamble with lighting and I am not a huge fan of being photographed, but I am getting used to it gradually.

Loopy: Well since you design such beautiful things, I think it’s safe to say that most people are too buy studying the knitwear to worry too much about the model! Maybe that helps! Do you do this business full-time, or on the side?  And is that hard? Do you have other jobs outside of pattern designing?

Jenny: I do this part time, I have a day job as well. It’s been actually OK to juggle the two, but I am quite well organized and I have to credit my grandmother in instilling excellent work ethic in me and ability to focus, so I have been pretty lucky not to have major difficulties. I also get a lot of support from my husband who is always ready to step in with day to day chores, if I need extra knitting time. This definitely helps a ton!

Loopy: It’s good to have support at home, and I’m so glad you’re able to do both. Does anyone else in your family knit?

Jenny: My mom is a sporadic knitters, but she prefers sewing. No one else knits in my family but both of my grandmothers (now both long passed away) were knitters.

Loopy: So you are carrying on the hobby from both of them. I bet they would be pleased. Are there other hobbies that you enjoy?

Jenny: No, knitting is the only hobby I truly love! I tried sewing, but it did not stick. But I do occasionally sew knitting bags!

Loopy: That’s one way to get a knitter sewing – new project bags! What would be your favorite way to spend a day off?

Jenny: Go to the beach and knit! maybe have lunch and then knit!

Loopy: I see a theme in that day off! Glad you have included plenty of knitting. Ok – last sets of questions: Morning or Night person? Coffee or Tea? English or Continental? Solids or Multicolors? 🙂

Jenny: I am an early morning and late night person, I don’t generally sleep a lot naturally:) Definitely coffee! 
I am a combined knitter but I knit continental when in the round. I also learned Irish Collage knitting, which is an English style to vary things up a bit.
I prefer solid yarns to variegated in general except for shawls when you can get a bit more playful and creative.

Loopy: I’m going to have to look up that knitting style – sounds interesting. Thanks again for being with us today, Jenny! Anything else you’d like to add?

Jenny: I love knitting and wool and I hope people knitting my patterns see the passion behind them. Thank you for having me and giving me the opportunity to do this interview!

Jenny is offering a 20% discount on the pattern of your choice from her Ravelry Pattern shop. The code is: LOOPYEWE and is valid August 20-27. 2021.

Have a great weekend!

Sheri

Hi there! Today we have knitwear designer Anna Johanna in our spotlight. Anna lives in Finland and designs everything – sweaters, shawls, socks, and accessories. No matter what you love to knit, you’ll find it in her patterns! (Pattern links lead to Ravelry, yarn links lead to The Loopy Ewe.)

Loopy: Hi Anna! Thanks for being in our Spotlight today. How long have you been a knitter, and who taught you to knit?

Anna: Hi Loopy! I’ve been knitting most of my life. Here in Finland, Children are taught to crochet in kindergarten and to knit in 3rd grade but I’m pretty sure my mum taught me even before that.

Loopy: I wish we had regular programs for teaching knitting and crocheting in schools here. I think that’s so wonderful. What is your favorite type of thing to knit?

Anna: I love to work on sweaters and cardigans. For some reason, I feel like accessories are too quick to make and the fun is over too fast, so I like bigger projects.

Loopy: That’s an interesting way to look at it. I feel like I’m always looking forward to finishing one so I can get to the next one. I like the idea of savoring it more. What is the most challenging thing that you have knit to date?

Anna: Every once in a while I like to take a little holiday from knitwear design and work on someone else’s pattern. The most challenging one I’ve ever done is Celestarium Shawl by Audrey Nicklin. It’s not because the pattern was difficult in itself but I saw that people had been using different kinds of beads for different kinds/size stars and then I came across a version incorporating the Milky Way using see through beads and I just had to copy the idea. It meant that I spent an entire day printing out the charts, joining the constellations with lines, marking out the bigger stars and sketching the Milky Way onto the charts and then randomly choosing places for the see through beads within it. I love a challenge.

Loopy: I am amazed that you put all of that into that beautiful shawl. Wow. What a true masterpiece. A good one to call your “most challenging” – definitely! When did you start designing, and what spurred that interest?

Anna: I actually dreamed of being a fashion designer when I was a child, so that dream came through in a slightly different way. I’ve always improvised patterns for myself but I published my first pattern on Ravelry in 2016 and now, I’ve got over 100!

Loopy: That’s a huge inventory of patterns to have designed in such a short time. That’s wonderful! Do you have a favorite pattern that you’ve designed?

Anna: It’s really hard to choose just one, but I love the knitting math behind Juxtaposition, which is an all-over colorwork sweater from my debut book, Strands of Joy.

Loopy: That’s a beautiful sweater! What is your favorite part of designing? And your not-so-favorite part?

Anna: Before I started designing full-time, I was a researcher at the university with a PhD in statistics. So, I really, really love all the math that goes into designing and grading. My least favorite thing is waiting for my samples to dry.

Loopy: That’s funny! (Waiting for knits to dry.) It’s such a dry climate here in Colorado, that our knits dry overnight, and I like that! Do you do this business full-time, or on the side? And is that hard? Do you have other jobs outside of pattern designing?

Anna: As I just mentioned, I used to be a researcher. Counting from starting my PhD, I spent 10 years at the university. but I started working on my designs on the side since 2016 and then finally, at the beginning of 2020, I left the university to work on my knitting full-time. It has been the best thing ever.

Loopy: How wonderful to be able to do something you love like this, full time. We all are benefitting from that, as you continue to put out wonderful patterns! Does anyone else in your family knit?

Anna: My sister also loves to knit and it’s wonderful to share all this with her. My mother used to knit when she was younger but she couldn’t take the shoulder ache any more and had to stop. I’m pretty sure my shoulders are a bit sore as well, but I don’t mind because it’s worth it.

Loopy: There are good exercises out there that we should all be doing to stay limber and loose with our knitting muscles! Are there other hobbies you enjoy?

Anna: I’m into all kinds of crafts. Besides knitting, I spin yarn on my two wheels, sew (mostly dresses to go with my knits) and I also love to cook and bake. When I turned 30, I finally also found joy in exercise and nowadays my hobbies include the gym, yoga, and hiking.

Loopy: That sounds really well-rounded. Good things for body and soul! What would be your favorite way to spend a day off?

Anna: I spend most of my time knitting no matter whether I’m working on my own designs or not. But if I’m not at my needles, I prefer to go hiking with Hubby. Nature is great not only for relaxation but also for inspiration.

Loopy: That’s very true. It’s good to get out there and enjoy the creativity in the world! Ok, last questions. Morning or Night person? Coffee or Tea? English or Continental? Solids or Multicolors?

Anna: I’m definitely not a morning person. The best thing about working for myself full-time is not having the alarm clock on. I’ve never drank a cup of coffee in my life, but just a few years ago, I finally learned to love tea – as long as it’s not black tea. I know Continental style so Im not a thrower, except when sometimes I knit left-handed to avoid turning the work. For the life of me, I cannot change the hand that’s holding the yarn so in those instances, I have to throw. Solids or multicolors is a harder one to choose. For bigger garments, I prefer solids or semi-solids. But for shawls and socks, I love speckled yarns.

Loopy: Thank you again for being with us today, Anna!

Anna is offering 20% off a pattern of your choice from her Ravelry Pattern shop. The code to use is: LOOPYEWE and that is valid August 13 – 20, 2021.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sheri

Today we have Laura Fahlin in our Designer Spotlight. Laura was born and raised in Colorado, and says she gets her Loopy packages very quickly. 🙂 I know you’ll like learning more about her and her beautiful work today. (Pattern links go to Ravelry, yarn links go to The Loopy Ewe.)

Loopy: Hi Laura! Thanks for being with us today. How long have you been a knitter and who taught you to knit?

Laura: Hi Loopy! I started knitting when I was 10. I was inspired to knit by my maternal grandmother, my MorMor. She lived back east, but she’d always have her knitting with her when she came to visit us. I still have a little cardigan she made for me when I was a toddler. She didn’t teach me to knit since she lived so far away. I use Laura Fahlin as my designer name because of her. Fahlin (pronounced fa-leen) is my middle name and was her maiden name.

I asked my mom to take me to a local craft store, and I used my allowance to buy some plastic needles, acrylic yarn, and a How to Knit booklet. I knit a lot of baby sweaters in my 20s for friends and family. I took up sock knitting after reading one of the Yarn Harlot’s books and blog and finding Ravelry. I’ve improved and learned new knitting techniques through retreats like the Loopy Flings and YouTube videos.

Loopy: I love that you are able to honor your grandmother and the influence she had on your knitting. That’s a great idea. What is your favorite type of item to knit?

Laura: Socks mostly, but all accessories – shawls, scarfs, hats, mitts. I like smaller projects – one or two skeins.

Loopy: The nice thing about one/two skein projects is they get done quicker! And they are also nice to make as gifts. What is the most challenging thing that you have knit to date?

Laura: The most complicated thing I’ve knit was for the Winter Olympics in 2014. I knit a Windward scarf (by Heidi Kirrmaier) which has complex shaping and added 5 different Doctor Who-inspired stitch patterns to the different sections, plus beads! I had so many pieces of graph paper and spread sheets to keep track of what I was doing. But I love how it turned out.

Loopy: That sounds like a good challenge, although maybe hard to track and knit while watching the Olympics! (Or maybe that’s just me and my attention span…) When did you start designing, and what spurred that interest?

Laura: I officially started designing in 2013. I’d been in a sock club for a couple of years and had been knitting socks for the challenges in the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry. I found myself always wanting to make changes to patterns or to combine parts of patterns into mash up versions. My first pattern was for a SKA challenge.

Loopy: I think that’s how a lot of designers start – itching to make changes to patterns they are knitting. That’s a good sign that maybe you should try your hand at it. Do you have a favorite pattern that you’ve designed?

Laura: Of the socks I’ve designed, I’ll always have a soft spot for HMS Laconia Socks since that was the first pattern I designed. They were for my husband (and he still wears them) and were inspired by Captain Wentworth from Persuasion, my favorite Jane Austen. I also really love Study in Slip Socks which was designed for a SKA challenge too and is a fun way to use up leftover sock yarn, of which I have so much!

Of my accessories, I love my Barnstormer Hats because they have fun, short-row earflaps and since they have a family connection. Two of my great-uncles (my MorMor’s brothers) were barnstormer pilots and one designed wooden propellers in the 1930’s. I designed the hats to keep my ears warm when I walked my boys to the bus stop in the morning when they were in elementary school, which makes me a bit nostalgic since they’re now 6 foot tall teenagers.

Loopy: I think ear flaps are a great idea for winter walks. And that is a fun pattern. What is your favorite part of your designing? And your not-so-favorite part?

Laura: My favorite part of designing is having an idea for a pattern and figuring out the “puzzle” of it – how to make the stitches look the way I picture them in my head. I also like how I get to use both sides of my brain: the creative side and the math and logic side.

My not-so-favorite part is when I have an idea that just won’t come together, no matter how many times I rework it, and I’m still learning to let that go.

Loopy: I think letting it go would be hard. Seems like if you can see it, you can knit it. But I definitely know that’s not necessarily true. Do you do this business full-time, or on the side?  And is that hard? Do you have other jobs outside of pattern designing?

Laura: I design part-time since I’m a stay at home parent. It’s been challenging to get much done during the pandemic with my 2 boys at home for distance learning and my husband working from home too. I spent the last school year as tech support, algebra tutor, lab partner, and essay editor.

Loopy: Yes, stay-at-home parenting roles have taken on a whole new meaning during Covid, for sure. Some day things will return to normal. I keep hoping. Does anyone else in your family knit?

Laura: Not at the moment, but I think a couple of my cousins dabble in knit and crochet. I taught my nephew to knit a few years ago. He’s now studying to be a structural engineer. He wanted to know how knitting worked since I’d knit him socks and hats. He hasn’t kept it up, but maybe he’ll take it up again when he’s older and has more time.

Loopy: As a structural engineer, he had that quest to figure out how those socks came together! Are there other hobbies that you enjoy?

Laura: Reading and sewing, mostly project bags for my knitting. I can crochet and have done some quilting too.

Loopy: What would be your favorite way to spend a day off?

Laura: I don’t really get days off now, but a quiet day is always good for either reading, knitting, tossing my stash or flipping through stitch dictionaries for design inspiration.

Loopy: Ok, last questions: Morning or Night person? Coffee or Tea? English or Continental? Solids or Multicolors?

Laura: Night person and coffee, definitely. I learned English first, but learned Continental a few years ago, which once I got the hang of it, is faster for me. I also wanted to be able to knit colorwork with both hands. I love all the multicolor yarns, variegated, speckled, self-striping, and try to use them for my designs as much as I can.

Loopy: It’s always great to find patterns that use all of the multicolor yarns, so we’re all glad to know they work with many of your designs. Anything else you’d like to add?

Laura: For anyone who likes a mystery sock knit along, I designed one for the Solid Sock group on Ravelry starting September 1. It’s free and the clues will come out September 1, 8, 15, and 22.

Loopy: Thanks for being with us today, Laura!

Laura is offering 20% off one of her patterns of your choice via her Ravelry pattern shop. The code is: SPOTLIGHT and is valid August 6-13, 2021.

Have fun picking out a pattern, and then pop over to The Loopy Ewe to pick out some beautiful yarn to go with it!

Sheri

In today’s Designer Spotlight we have Natasja Hornby of Moonstruck Knits. Natasja was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and her parents moved to Texel (a beautiful little island in the north-west of the Netherlands) when she was 4 years old. When she was 17, she moved to Amsterdam to go to college to study textiles and design, where she has been living ever since. I know you’ll enjoy learning more about her and her beautiful designs, today.

Loopy: Hi Natasja – thanks for being in our Designer Spotlight today. How long have you been a knitter and who taught you to knit?

Natasja: Hi Loopy! Great to have this conversation with you. Even as a very young child I was always making things, and my mom and dad are both avid makers as well. My mom taught me how to knit when I was five years old, and I’d knitted my first sweater by the age of eight. I’m 52 now, so I’ve known how to knit for 47 years now. That does not mean that I’ve been an active knitter all that time. I stopped knitting when I went to high school, since it was a totally uncool thing to do, especially for a teenager with green hair and a preference for punk rock music. I picked it up again in my mid-forties, and since then, there haven’t been many days without.

Loopy: I think maybe you could have knit up some really cool things to go with your green hair! But I do understand that maybe knitting wasn’t the in thing at that time. What is your favorite type of item to knit?

Natasja: Garments and shawls. I do not particularly enjoy knitting small circumferences in the round, so I have never knitted a sock in my life. But that may also be due to the fact that I like to show off my knits, and since I wear boots a lot, socks just feel like a waste of beautiful knitting.

When I started designing I saw myself as a sweater knitter first and foremost. Lacking all natural elegance to drape a piece of flat, knitted fabric around myself in a remotely attractive manner, I really didn’t see the appeal of shawls.

When I started thinking about designing, I thought about sweaters. But, after a few super challenging and immensely satisfying sweater designs, I was yearning for all kinds of crazy stuff like big scale colorwork and giant over the top stitch patterns. Being quite a minimalist in my approach when designing a sweater, a lot of these ideas would not transfer to that. So I gave the shawl a go.
And I must say, the process of designing a shawl, writing a pattern and knitting it, brings me just as much joy as a sweater does. For me the shawls are a super creative outlet, a canvas for my more adventurous knitting ideas. I don’t have to think about fit so much, but can concentrate on merging textures and colors in a way that appeals to me. I still don’t like fussy or precious or dainty, so all my shawls are almost like a garment; big and bold and present.

Loopy: That’s a good way to look at shawls – as a canvas for trying some of the more adventurous design and color ideas. I like that. What is the most challenging thing that you have knit to date?

Natasja: In 2017 Prada had a few sweaters in their catwalk collection in a colorful shell-like stitch pattern that fascinated quite a large group of knitters. I was one of the knitters that tried to reverse engineer this stitch pattern and when I succeeded, I could not leave it like that, so I knitted a hat and a sweater using that pattern. Especially the sweater was an epic challenge, but also very satisfying. It never became a pattern, because to me, it felt too much like a blatant Prada copy. I did revisit that stitch pattern for the design of my Miu sweater, using it in in a way that made it more accessible (and gradable!) and more of a Natasja Hornby then a Muccia Prada.

Loopy: I like that you took the texture of that stitch and then made it your own in your own design. Inspiration comes from all places! When did you start designing, and what spurred that interest?

Natasja: When I picked up knitting again, about 8 years ago, I started out as I was used to, since I had never knit from a pattern before. That means I knitted 4 pieces of fabric, sewed them together and called it a sweater. When that was finished, I thought it would be fun to browse the interwebs for knitting, to see if I could find something. Well, then I discovered Ravelry, which was a true revelation. Knitters! Designers! Patterns! I almost couldn’t believe my eyes.

So, I bought a pattern, and taught myself the English knitting lingo (to this day, I cannot write a pattern in Dutch to save my life!). Already with my first pattern, I started heavy modifications. Because I’m formally educated in the textiles and design field, I knew a thing or two about developing patterns for clothes, which of course helped tremendously.

After I knitted a few sweaters from patterns, I thought ‘Well, I think I would be able to do this myself’, so I designed and knitted a sweater which I proposed to Knitty, the online knitting magazine. To my astonishment, they accepted the design and published it. And after that, I just couldn’t stop. It’s just too much fun!

Loopy: Your background is perfect for your designing career and I can easily understand how you transitioned from knitting patterns by other people into designing your own. Do you have a favorite pattern that you’ve designed?

Natasja: Well, that would be my last one. My skills and outlook on things develop and change, and to me it is always the last design that reflects that development best. So at the moment it is my Yara shawl and my Fenne sweater.

Loopy: I like that with each pattern you challenge yourself to learn and grow, which means you’re always evolving. What is your favorite part of your designing? And your not-so-favorite part?

Natasja: My very favorite part is when it all comes together.

Designing can be a challenging and sometimes excruciating process, for me at least. I sketch, and I swatch. Rewind and repeat, again, and again, and again. Sometimes it’s easy, most of the time the magic only happens when you fight for it. Hard.

And even if you think you’ve got it, knitting the piece at true scale can prove you wrong. Too much, not enough, not what you’ve imagined or waned.

And you just start over. But when the magic does happen though, it’s like unicorns dancing in your brain.

My not so favorite part is not really related to designing, but comes with the fact that designing has grown from a (passionate) hobby into a business, with business related things to take care of, like taxes and bookkeeping. I would gladly swap 1 hour of bookkeeping for a whole day of fighting (or playing) with an idea for a design.

Loopy: There are definitely downsides to making a hobby a career. (And I agree about the bookkeeping!) Also, I’m totally going to come up with a yarn color called “Unicorns Dancing in Your Brain”. That’s awesome! Do you do this business full-time, or on the side?  And is that hard? Do you have other jobs outside of pattern designing?

Natasja: At the moment I have a full time job as a researcher and teacher at a college and a university. I am also working on my PhD. I’m a MSc in psychology and my field is social science, with a focus on multi-problem families. And yes, it is a challenge to combine, especially the last two years, when my working week averaged 70 hours or so. That is why I decided to cut back on the day job in September, when the new academic year starts. Hopefully that will help to balance work and play in a more healthy and sustainable manner.

Loopy: It sounds like the designing is a good creative outlet for your brain, after all of the academic work. I’m glad you’ll be able to work on a balance that suits you better this fall (and that means more patterns for us knitters, right?) Does anyone else in your family knit?

Natasja: Only my mom and she is a far better and more skilled knitter then I am. I’m quite an erratic (or, if you value the truth, sloppy) knitter by nature, and I never thought I would think about perfect left leaning decreases. I was far more interested in form, texture and fit to spend time practicing getting better at the craft.

But because I knit all my samples myself, I’ve learned that it does matter if your stitches are uneven, your short rows holey and your finishing quick & dirty. So I’m getting there, but I’m quite certain I will never reach mom’s perfection.

Loopy: I’m sure she is so proud of your design work, and as a knitter, she can truly appreciate all that you do. Are there other hobbies that you enjoy?

Natasja: Art, architecture, photography, eating great food and drinking a good glass of wine.

Loopy: Knowing that, what would be your favorite way to spend a day off?

Natasja: Sleep in late, hop on my bike to visit an art exhibition or two, have a late, copious lunch in the best of company on a sunny terrace of a restaurant that works with fresh, organic produce, followed by a stroll (or, to make it even more perfect, a boat ride) through my beautiful city.

Loopy: I think I want to come over and spend a day off with you. That sounds wonderful! Last question: Morning or Night person? Coffee or Tea? English or Continental? Solids or Multicolors?

Natasja: My brain is definitely at its best in the morning, so mornings are for tasks that need a lot of focus and concentration, like grading, pattern writing or working on my theses, all fueled by strong coffee. Afternoons are reserved for more repetitive tasks or things that do not need as much focus, like lecturing, or swatching and sketching, accompanied by big glasses of herb tea. Evenings are for relaxing and manual tasks like sample knitting and yarn winding. So, I don’t think I’m a typical morning or night person, to me every part of the day has its own charms and challenges.

And I do love me a good, unprocessed solid 😉

Loopy: I like that you know best just how to fill your day most productively. Thanks again for joining us today, Natasja!

Natasja is offering 20% off one of her patterns through her Ravelry Pattern shop. The code is: NATASJA&LOOPY20 and is valid July 30 – August 6, 2021.

Have a great weekend!

Sheri